By Gabrielle Moore, Editor in Chief
Lone Star College-Kingwood students rehearse a fight scene from Ann-Marie MacDonald’s “Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet”: Michael Pham (left) as Iago of “Othello” and Romeo of “Romeo and Juliet,” Katherine Espin (middle) as Desdemona of “Othello” and Ramona of “Romeo and Juliet,” and John Wayne Tingly (right) as Othello of “Othello”, Tybalt and Juliet’s Nurse of “Romeo and Juliet”, as well as Professor Claude Night of “Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet.” Photos by Taylor Robson.
Five Lone Star College-Kingwood theater students took on many forms in the multi-dimensional comedy of Ann-Marie MacDonald’s “Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet” this past week. Every actor played at least two characters, if not more, which contributed to how “challenging [the] script” was, according to the director of the play, Professor Kalliope Vlahos, who is also the technical director and designer of the theater department.
Another challenge of the script was the use of Shakespearean language. As the name of the play alludes, Shakespeare’s dramas Othello and Romeo and Juliet do appear in the play. In order to execute well not only the content but the characters themselves, “an immense amount of research [was] involved,” Vlahos said. The rehearsals themselves took over five weeks.
“We had to research various words and lines in the play, the variety of settings, proper props that we could then manipulate to fit within our dream world within this play, and time-period appropriate costuming,” Vlahos said.
The full cast and crew of “Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet” displayed outside of the Main Stage in the Performing Arts Center, Feb. 25. (Left) Stage manager Taylor Kenney, Michael Pham as Iago and Romeo, Alli Nauert as Constance and Scenic Design, photographer Taylor Robson; (middle) Assistant Stage Manager Joshua McElroy, Katherine Espin as Ramona and Desdemona, John Wayne Tingly as Othello, Tybalt, Professor Claude Night, and Juliet’s Nurse, Costume Designer Eric Skiles; (right) Assistant Costume Designer Marissa Mascolo, Lauren Koen as the student, soldier, and Juliet, Director, Lighting and Sound Designer Kalliope Vlahos. Headshots on display by Taylor Robson, Photos by Gabrielle Moore.
“Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet” follows English literature professor Constance Ledbelly on a subconscious journey from “modern day…to the worlds of Shakespeare,” Vlahos said. Based on Constance’s theory presented in her working dissertation, Othello and Romeo and Juliet were originally written as comedies when considering the archetype called “Wise Fool” to appear in the dramas, impeding their tragedies. Constance’s journey also involves the discovery of her true self.
Flier for Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet. Courtesy of Lone Star College-Kingwood’s “Goodnight Desdemona, Good morning Juliet.”
“It is a great educational experience for the cast, each playing multiple roles,” Vlahos said. “The use and examination of popular Shakespeare play within this piece is also a great educational experience for our audience.”
This production of LSC-Kingwood’s theater department is the second in line of their 2016-2017 season of celebrating and honoring female playwrights. Following this production, Vlahos and theater Director Eric Skiles will put on LSC-Kingwood’s 11th annual Evening of Shorts, where the theater department opens the stage to LSC-Kingwood students to produce their own dramas for the campus. The Evening of Shorts will take place in April.
